Switches, Double Switches, and Volt Switches

Hi everyone, Blatreutka here with my first warstory. I’ve always loved reading warstories, so I figured I’d give it a shot after having an amazing battle with lacerta. Lacerta and I have watched a few of each other’s battles and, although she was using a different team at the time, battled a couple times before. After watching a match where lacerta demolished an unsuspecting team, I sent her a challenge to see how I would fair against her new team and if I would keep my undefeated record.

Note: my PO name is Grendel's Mother

Battle between lacerta and Grendel's Mother started!

Grendel’s Mother’s team:

I’ve always loved sun teams (Ninetales is my favorite ‘mon), but I found that I rarely ever beat SS or Drizzle teams. After reading Katakiri’s RMT, I decided to give Drought another shot. My team is balanced and meant to take on opposing weathers in their own element then sweep with Venusaur. I also use a few unique sets like my anti-weather lead Shiftry and sun-compatible Slowbro.

Lacerta’s team:

Lacerta’s team focuses on wearing down the opposition with entry hazards and abusing a scouting core that give lacerta complete control of the momentum. Either her CM Latias or her bulky SD Cobalion finishes off the opponent’s weakened team.

The following pokemon are holding Leftovers:Grendel’s Mother’s SlowbroLacerta’s Latias, Gyarados, Cobalion, and Ferrothorn

After battling a few other Mienshao leads, I’ve learned the best way to deal with them. Hi Jump Kick OHKOs Ninetales, and my only fighting resists are Venusaur and Slowbro and U-turn hits both of them hard while leaving me in a bad position. It will take a few switches, but I know I can work around it with minimal damage while getting the sun up from the start.

Grendel's Mother sent out Ninetales!lacerta sent out Mienshao!Ninetales is floating on a balloon!Ninetales's Drought intensified the sun's rays!

vs.

Start of turn 1Grendel's Mother called Ninetales back!Grendel's Mother sent out Slowbro!

The foe's Mienshao used Hi Jump Kick!It's not very effective...Slowbro lost 102 HP! (25% of its health)The foe's Mienshao is hurt by its Life Orb!

81% vs.90%

By starting off with Hi Jump Kick, lacerta reveals that she doesn’t have Fake Out, which can save me from some residual damage. That 25% is about to disappear as I switch back out. I’m going to need Slowbro to wall Cobalion later in the battle, so I’ll switch to my U-turn resist and least important team member. Since lacerta doesn't run weather, I don't have any reason to play cautiously with Shiftry or Ninetales as they are meant to combat other weather sweepers and starters.

(Significant) Prediction CountMe – 1Lacerta – 0

Start of turn 2Grendel's Mother called Slowbro back!Grendel's Mother sent out Ninetales!

Ninetales is floating on a balloon!The foe's Mienshao used U-turn!It's not very effective...Ninetales lost 69 HP! (19% of its health)Ninetales's Air Balloon popped!The foe's Mienshao is hurt by its Life Orb!lacerta called Mienshao back!lacerta sent out Latias!

81% vs. 100%

So in comes possibly the most threatening ‘mon on her team: CM Latias. Without Snorlax, this battle would be over in a few turns as it Subs up and proceeds to boost. Venusaur can't OHKO, Shiftry needs to hit it with Sucker Punch and my other members don't outspeed and can't threaten it enough to stop its sweep. I’m fairly certain she’s going to Sub at this point. Otherwise Ninetales could status it or Snorlax could Pursuit it. I’ll bring in Snorlax to prevent it from doing anything useful, but all I can Pursuit is his Sub, so I’ll need to worry about Mienshao again after that. I still have Ninetales to fodder, so there's no worries at this point.

Prediction CountMe – 2Lacerta – 0

Start of turn 3lacerta called Latias back!lacerta sent out Mienshao!

Grendel's Mother called Ninetales back!Grendel's Mother sent out Snorlax!

100% vs. 100%Well, that went well for her. She knows my weakness to CM Latias and is abusing it perfectly. I’m now once again facing possibly the best scouter in the game with the Pokemon I need to be most worried about keeping alive. I’m assuming she knows that I’m worried about keeping Snorlax alive, so I’ll switch to Tales to take the incoming U-turn. I was hoping to force Latias to lose some HP by making a Substitute so that it needs to waste a turn or two using Wish, but all this accomplished for him is getting results a turn sooner.

Prediction CountMe – 2Lacerta - 1

Start of turn 4Grendel's Mother called Snorlax back!Grendel's Mother sent out Ninetales!

The foe's Mienshao used U-turn!It's not very effective...Ninetales lost 67 HP! (19% of its health)The foe's Mienshao is hurt by its Life Orb!lacerta called Mienshao back!lacerta sent out Rotom-H!

62% vs. 100%

I was expecting Latias again, but lacerta brings in his scarfed Rotom-H to rack up on yet more damage. I’m fairly certain that Ninetales can take a Volt Switch given his decent special bulk, and I need to get the momentum back on my side. Looking at her team, she has very few options to switch in. Mienshao can revenge Ninetals, sure, but it has trouble switching in on any decently powered attack, and Cobalion and Ferrothorn are easily taken out with a Fire Blast. That just leaves his Latias and Rest Talk Gyarados. Neither of them like status (even with Rest, lacerta can’t afford to give away any free turns to give me back the momentum and Sleep Talk isn’t the most reliable move), so I’ll go with Toxic.

Start of turn 5The foe's Rotom-H used Volt Switch!Ninetales lost 120 HP! (34% of its health)lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Gyarados!

The foe's Gyarados intimidates Ninetales!Ninetales's Attack fell!

Ninetales used Toxic!The foe's Gyarados was poisoned!

28% vs. 94%

I was really hoping for Latias to come in, but I suppose hitting Gyarados also helps. The only thing I have that can OHKO Gyarados is, ironically, Infernape. Snorlax might be able to, but it would give Ferrothorn a chance to start setting up hazards. As soon as that happens, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to survive his constant scouting. Shiftry should be able to 2HKO Gyarados with Leaf Storm. At this point, since lacerta doesn’t run rain or sandstorm, it’s my second least useful team member. It also resists Waterfall, so it should come in with very little damage done.

Prediction CountMe – 3Lacerta - 1

Start of turn 6Grendel's Mother called Ninetales back!Grendel's Mother sent out Shiftry!

The foe's Gyarados used Dragon Tail!Shiftry lost 96 HP! (29% of its health)Ninetales was dragged out!

28% vs. 81%

Once again, lacerta definitely out-predicts me and racks up on even more damage. At this point I’m grateful she doesn’t have any hazards up. I’m back where I was and I figure switching out again would be a bad move. I’ll simply attack it for a bit of damage and another turn of poison as I wait for her to rest.

Prediction CountMe – 3Lacerta - 2

Start of turn 7lacerta called Gyarados back!lacerta sent out Latias!

Ninetales used Fire Blast!The attack of Ninetales missed!

The Fire Blast miss didn’t matter; even with sun Ninetales can’t hurt Latias at all. His best move is to Sub up at this point to protect from status and Snorlax’s pursuit. I know he’ll just switch to either Mienshao or Cobalion, but I can’t let Latias set up, so Snorlax it is.

Prediction CountMe – 3Lacerta - 3

28% vs. 100%

Start of turn 8Grendel's Mother called Ninetales back!Grendel's Mother sent out Snorlax!

The foe's Latias used Substitute!The foe's Latias made a substitute!

100% - 81% + Sub

I make the obvious switch to Snorlax to threaten Latias and keep it from setting up. I’ll pursuit just in case he mispredicts or over-thinks his move. With Ninetales to take Mienshao’s U-turn and Slowbro to wall Cobalion, I don’t have much to fear from either at this point, so I’m not worried about keeping Snorlax in against them.

So she goes to Cobalion, which both threatens Snorlax and can take a Return if she thought I predicted a switch to Mienshao. I actually debated hitting the switch in, but I decided to play it cautiously this early in the match, so Cobalion would have walled me either way. Switching to Slowbro is a no-brainer here. I really have nothing to lose as the worst Cobalion can do it hit it with a Stone Edge.

Start of turn 10lacerta called Cobalion back!lacerta sent out Rotom-H!

Grendel's Mother called Snorlax back!Grendel's Mother sent out Slowbro!

100% vs. 100%

Ugh, another fantastic prediction on lacerta’s part and I’m stuck in another bad situation. Volt Switch is a guaranteed KO against Slowbro, and if I switch it will let her keep the momentum. She’s put me in a no-win situation here. I’m definitely not giving up Slowbro as I’ll need it to take on Cobalion and Mienshao, so I’ll switch to Shiftry who can take the Volt Switch and do at least some damage to whatever team member she switches in.

Prediction CountMe – 3Lacerta - 4

Start of turn 11Grendel's Mother called Slowbro back!Grendel's Mother sent out Shiftry!

The foe's Rotom-H used Volt Switch!It's not very effective...Shiftry lost 92 HP! (28% of its health)lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Latias!

41% vs. 88%

She goes with the obvious move and switches out to Latias. By this point in the battle, I’ve decided I need to take a more offensive stance. If I can give Venusaur a chance to boost, it should be able to sweep his entire team. The hardest part of that is actually getting a free turn. Lacerta knows my style of play and she knows my team. I think our last match even ended in a Venusaur sweep. Ferrothorn is my best chance to get a free turn and it’s basically the only thing I can set up on, but that comes with its own set of problems. The only Pokemon Ferrothorn can come in against is Snorlax, and I can’t afford to play boldly with Snorlax until Latias is out of the picture. So where does that leave me? I need to somehow take out Latias, preferably before he wears my team down too much. I think I know just the way to do that.

Start of turn 12Shiftry used Leaf Storm!The attack of Shiftry missed!

The foe's Latias used Substitute!The foe's Latias made a substitute!

41% vs. 69% + Sub

Once again there is some useless hax. Leaf Storm wouldn’t have done much and didn’t serve a grand purpose other than to let lacerta know that Shiftry is here to stay. This next move will make or break my plan. I know I need to sack Shiftry, but I also need to make sure that Latias loses that Sub. The only move I have that can break the Sub is Sucker Punch, but lacerta might not even attack. In that case, I’ll switch to Snorlax and pursuit away. If he does attack, then I’ll be in the best position possible. I’d say I have a 50% chance … maybe.

Start of turn 13Shiftry used Sucker Punch!It's super effective!The foe's Latias's substitute faded!Shiftry is hurt by its Life Orb!

The foe's Latias used Dragon Pulse!Shiftry lost 101 HP! (31% of its health)Shiftry fainted!

100% vs. 75%6 – 5 lacerta

Yes! Although I lost Shiftry, I can now bring Snorlax in on Latias without a Substitute and make sure it doesn’t escape. After that I can focus on my main plan. These next few turns consist of lacerta stalling with Sub. I’ll just condense those and get back to the meat of the battle.

Prediction CountMe – 4Lacerta - 4

Start of turn 14The foe's Latias used Substitute!The foe's Latias made a substitute!

And we’re back. Rotom-H is an interesting switch, but I suppose it makes sure I switch in a sweeper rather than Slowbro. Lucky for me I have a great piece of death fodder ready for his last hit. Sacking Ninetales at this point is the best thing I can do because it won’t be of any use against her team and it stops her from taking the momentum back. After that, I need a good way to get Snorlax in to draw in Ferrothorn

100% vs. 100%5 – 5

Start of turn 18Grendel's Mother called Snorlax back!Grendel's Mother sent out Ninetales!

The foe's Rotom-H used Volt Switch!Ninetales lost 94 HP! (26% of its health)Ninetales fainted!lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Gyarados!

Latias's wish came true!

Gyarados. Well, I don’t have Shiftry to hit it with a Leaf Storm anymore, so I’ll need to find another way to take it out. Wait a minute, lacerta knows my team. She’s watched me battle plenty of times and she’s smarter than to send Gyarados against my Infernape. Thunderpunch is a guaranteed KO since she wasted Intimidate and there’s no use trying to pretend that I have anything different.

Prediction CountMe – 5Lacerta - 4

Grendel's Mother sent out Infernape!

100% vs. 93%5 – 4 lacerta

Start of turn 19lacerta called Gyarados back!lacerta sent out Ferrothorn!

Infernape used ThunderPunch!It's not very effective...The foe's Ferrothorn lost 10% of its health!The foe's Ferrothorn's Iron Barbs hurts InfernapeInfernape is hurt by its Life Orb!

78% vs. 90%

Like I said, she knew I had Thunderpunch. It’s my fault for not taking advantage of the switch, but it doesn’t really matter. I could switch in Venusaur here, but he can’t OHKO Gyarados without any boosts and he’ll just be Dragon Tailed out. I need Venusaur at full health to take a Gyro Ball from Ferrothorn later. For now, I’ll use Overheat, which both kills Ferrothorn and should bring Gyarados into KO range from Thunderpunch after Intimidate.

Prediction CountMe – 5Lacerta - 5

Start of turn 20lacerta called Ferrothorn back!lacerta sent out Gyarados!

Well, that’s what I get from using moves with 90% accuracy. It’s a shame, but nothing I can’t work around. This next move seems a bit weird, but I’ll try to explain my reasoning. We both know that Slowbro walls Gyarados all day long, so that would be a reasonable choice to stall for the poison damage. However, lacerta has been predicting me nearly perfectly this entire match, so I need to change up my game. She’s probably going to switch in Rotom-H to either take a Thunderpunch or threaten Slowbro out. If I switch in Slowbro, she regains her momentum and I have an even harder time bringing Venusaur in. My decision is also helped by the fact that lacerta took a while choosing her move, which is generally my cue to watch out for predictions. So, as backwards as this sounds, I’ll switch Venusaur in against Rotom-H to make its sweep easier.

Start of turn 21Grendel's Mother called Infernape back!Grendel's Mother sent out Venusaur!

lacerta called Gyarados back!lacerta sent out Rotom-H!

100% vs. 100%

Just as I thought. See, now she’ll use Overheat to take out my only chance at a sweep, letting me switch to Snorlax relatively unharmed.

Start of turn 22Grendel's Mother called Venusaur back!Grendel's Mother sent out Snorlax!

The foe's Rotom-H used Overheat!The attack of the foe's Rotom-H missed!

100% vs. 100%

It seems the hax gods are just. A miss for a miss, not that it really mattered. Snorlax isn’t even 2HKO’d by a Flash Fire boosted Fire Blast from Heatran in sunlight, so a scarfed Rotom-H isn’t hitting it for much at all. Lacerta has two options at this point. 1) Switch to Mienshao or 2) switch to Cobalion. Snorlax’s Return can OHKO both Rotom-H and Mienshao, so I’m guessing he’ll switch to Cobalion. In that case, Earthquake is my best bet to take down his second bulky sweeper.

Start of turn 23lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Cobalion!

Snorlax used Earthquake!It's super effective!The foe's Cobalion lost 76% of its health!

100% vs. 30%

Even though I need to switch now, I feel like I’m in a good position in the overall battle. Her Cobalion won’t be doing any sweeping with that low health and without Latias she won’t be able to pass it any health with Wish. That isn’t to say that lacerta’s team can’t still pull out a win, just that she won’t pull out a clean sweep. For now I’ll keep Snorlax safe and switch out to Slowbro, who has nothing to fear from Cobalion.

Prediction CountMe – 6Lacerta – 5

Start of turn 24lacerta called Cobalion back!lacerta sent out Rotom-H!

Grendel's Mother called Snorlax back!Grendel's Mother sent out Slowbro!

100% vs. 100%

Though he has everything to fear from Rotom. With that prediction, lacerta just won back the momentum. Again. Now it’s time to play the switching game, which means she can rack up more and more residual damage. I’ll need to take back the momentum quickly if I’m going to survive. Venusaur can take a Volt Switch and won’t give Mienshao a free U-turn for more damage like Snorlax

Prediction CountMe – 6Lacerta – 6

Start of turn 25Grendel's Mother called Slowbro back!Grendel's Mother sent out Venusaur!

The foe's Rotom-H used Volt Switch!It's not very effective...Venusaur lost 55 HP! (17% of its health)lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Cobalion!

83% vs. 35%

That went well. She decides to fodder Cobalion most likely to bring Rotom-H back in unharmed. There’s no reason for him to save Cobalion, so I’ll simply take it out with Hidden Power Fire and even the score.

Start of turn 26Venusaur used Hidden Power!It's super effective!The foe's Cobalion lost 35% of its health!The foe's Cobalion fainted!Venusaur is hurt by its Life Orb!

lacerta sent out Rotom-H!73% vs. 100%4 – 4

I don’t think Venusaur can OHKO Rotom-H, so I’ll need to switch out. Snorlax doesn’t have anything to fear, so it’s a simple choice.

Start of turn 27Grendel's Mother called Venusaur back!Grendel's Mother sent out Snorlax!

The foe's Rotom-H used Volt Switch!A critical hit!Snorlax lost 180 HP! (38% of its health)lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Mienshao!

62% vs. 100%

Out-predicted again. The critical hit balances out the Overheat miss earlier, so it’s all set. At this point, I’m looking to implement that plan I mentioned earlier. I need to bring in Venusaur and lacerta is using Mienshao rather than Ferrothorn to handle Snorlax, so it looks like switching into Volt Switch is my best bet. Slowbro won’t take too much damage from U-turn after Regenerator and it is a sitting duck for Rotom-H. Slowbro also works if lacerta gets impatient and tries to take out Snorlax.

Start of turn 28Grendel's Mother called Snorlax back!Grendel's Mother sent out Slowbro!

The foe's Mienshao used U-turn!It's super effective!Slowbro lost 150 HP! (38% of its health)The foe's Mienshao is hurt by its Life Orb!lacerta called Mienshao back!lacerta sent out Rotom-H!

68% vs. 100%

Perfect, lacerta brings in Rotom-H, who will inevitably Volt Switch out to keep his momentum. The only problem for him is that the only ‘mons that Venusaur can’t OHKO’d are Rotom-H and Gyarados. The former is 2HKO’d and the latter will die to Toxic damage shortly after a hit.

Start of turn 29Grendel's Mother called Slowbro back!Grendel's Mother sent out Venusaur!

That was NOT supposed to happen. Just as I took out her sweepers earlier in the match, she just took out mine. Rotom-H now outspeeds my entire team, so taking it down is my first priority. With its constant switching, Stealth Rock seems like the best way to handle it. Infernape can handle most of her team, but it can’t do it all at once, so I’ll need to choose who it takes down. I need to know what she’s going to switch in, so I’ll see what I can do after setting my rocks.

Prediction CountMe – 6Lacerta – 7

Start of turn 30lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Gyarados!

The foe's Gyarados intimidates Infernape!Infernape's Attack fell!Infernape used Stealth Rock!Pointed stones float in the air around lacerta's team!

78% vs. 94%

I’ve got SR up and I’m facing his Gyarados. I have a tough decision here. Thunderpunch generally does around 70%, so by killing Gyarados here I will lose Infernape. I could switch to Slowbro to wall it, but Gyarados can just Rest to remove the poison and Dragon Tail it out without taking much damage at all. Snorlax can 2HKO it, but I need it as healthy as possible to force out Rotom-H for the SR damage. As long as everything goes well, Snorlax and Slowbro should be able to dismantle the rest of his team, so losing Infernape seems like the best option. Hopefully.

Start of turn 31Infernape used ThunderPunch!It's super effective!The foe's Gyarados lost 73% of its health!Infernape is hurt by its Life Orb!

The foe's Gyarados used Waterfall!It's super effective!Infernape lost 156 HP! (53% of its health)

15% vs. 14%

As I said, I’ll need to lose Infernape to beat Gyarados. Now that I have Stealth Rock, he’s not going to switch out. Time to kill it.

Start of turn 32Infernape used Close Combat!It's not very effective...The foe's Gyarados lost 14% of its health!Infernape's Defense fell!Infernape's Sp. Def. fell!The foe's Gyarados fainted!Infernape is hurt by its Life Orb!

lacerta sent out Rotom-H!Pointed stones dug into the foe's Rotom-H!

5% vs. 75%3 – 3

I evened up the score, but only for a moment. Her Rotom-H comes in to revenge Infernape and I’m perfectly fine letting it happen, especially since Volt Switch at this point will work against her and give me a chance to send in my counter to her ‘mon.

Start of turn 33The foe's Rotom-H used Volt Switch!Infernape lost 15 HP! (5% of its health)Infernape fainted!lacerta called Rotom-H back!lacerta sent out Mienshao!Pointed stones dug into the foe's Mienshao!

Grendel's Mother sent out Slowbro!

100% vs. 93%3 – 2 lacerta

Mienshao is only doing around 35% with U-turn, so I can hit Rotom-H with Psychic to make sure it doesn’t threaten Slowbro. After it dies, Slowbro can wall the rest of her team. The end of the battle is in sight.

Start of turn 34The foe's Mienshao used U-turn!It's super effective!Slowbro lost 150 HP! (38% of its health)The foe's Mienshao is hurt by its Life Orb!lacerta called Mienshao back!lacerta sent out Rotom-H!Pointed stones dug into the foe's Rotom-H!

Slowbro used Psychic!The foe's Rotom-H lost 33% of its health!

68% vs. 16%

My plan works, all I need to do now is switch to Snorlax to wall it. Even if it switches out, Rotom-H is now as good as dead.

Prediction CountMe – 7Lacerta - 7

Start of turn 35Grendel's Mother called Slowbro back!Grendel's Mother sent out Snorlax!

Start of turn 39The foe's Mienshao used U-turn!It's super effective!Slowbro lost 138 HP! (35% of its health)The foe's Mienshao is hurt by its Life Orb!lacerta called Mienshao back!lacerta sent out Ferrothorn!Pointed stones dug into the foe's Ferrothorn!

Slowbro lives with 2%, marking the end of a fantastic battle and letting me keep my undefeated record against lacerta. GG lacerta.

Final Significant Prediction CountMe - 8Lacerta - 7

Props- Great predictions on both sides- Lacerta’s Mienshao and Rotom-H for applying constant pressure- Snorlax and Slowbro for tanking their way through his team (with some help)- Shiftry for dying to let me kill Latias- Insignificant hax

Slops- Lacerta’s Ferrothorn for doing next to nothing- Venusaur for dying too soon- Mienshao’s final critical hit
- (edit) My referring to lacerta as he. I think I fixed all of it, but I probably missed some.

I really liked this warstory. There were more than just standard OU 'mons and neither side had a clear advantage the whole time. I was expecting a late game Venusaur sweep, so Rotom's KOing it shook things up in a good way. Comments and formatting were good... very nice overall!

10/10. Great battle with good predictions on both sides. Snorlax is awesome. Little bit of hax but they did not change the outcome nor had any effect on the game. Immediately will be on the warstory archive

Aye, too haxxy for me, even if most of these missed attacks would hit resistances.
...
However, you both battled well and your idea to track your predictions every ten turns is great. Snorlax should be used more in OU... Your commentary was very good too. A solid candidate for the archive.

Snorlax already has a ton of HP, so maxing out SpD is more beneficial. It's walled by Skarmory and Ferrothorn (and Gliscor to an extent), but if you've got a sun team there's no reason they should be able to last more than a few turns on the field anyway. It isn't 2HKO'd by Timid Specs Latios DM or Starmie's rain-boosted surf or unboosted Hydro Pump and is never OHKO'd by Volcanora regardless of its boosts while Return is a OHKO.

This was very nice, no missplays really, the hax didn't really matter and got resolved. It was a good battle, and this shows how both of you are good with predictions. I hope you make more in the future, because I guarantee i will read them and enjoy them.